Review by Ian Keogh

Darth Maul is one of the most visually startling characters ever introduced to the Star Wars universe, and artist Jan Duursema takes maximum advantage of that with an extremely strong opening page (sample art), and continues with several pages of him decimating droids.

He’s loyal to Lord Sidious at the time when the Empire is manoeuvring to end the era of freedom and prosperity, Episode I era if you prefer. Still hiding in the shadows, the Sith are accruing power, but Sidious feels his criminal allies the Black Sun are becoming too powerful and need to be weakened. Ron Marz spends some time explaining this over the opening chapter, but the combination of Duursema’s art with Dave McCaig’s colours is very distracting. Duursema’s versions of other aliens, whether designed by her or from the Star Wars catalogue are equally strong, and there’s considerable effort put into detail, both on the life forms and the locations.

Marz’s plot is straightforward, and as events are set before The Phantom Menace, there’s no suspense about Maul’s survival. He’s a master warrior and his mission is to sow discord, so he travels from one place to the next moving higher up the food chain and slaughtering almost everyone he encounters.

There’s no pretence about Darth Maul being anything other than a basic action thriller, but Duursema’s excellent art brings it all to startling life. This is also available as part of three larger collections, all confusingly titled Rise of the Sith. The Dark Horse Omnibus is a paperback collection, while the Marvel Omnibus is a hardcover. In Marvel’s Epic Collection format you want Rise of the Sith Volume 2 with Darth Maul prominent on the cover.